no. 02 · 15 March 2027
Akèda Mag no. 02 — Benin’s light industry
Where does local processing really stand? Our first review, with figures and workshops to back it up.
Local processing is the watchword of the decade. This issue goes to see for itself: in the workshops, in the operating accounts, in the electricity bills.
What Benin really processes, what it still exports raw, and what a production line costs when the power goes off three times a week.
Contents
p. 03
Editorial
Processing is not enough, you have to sell
Added value cannot be decreed: it has to find a market.
p. 05
Feature
The GDIZ, halfway through
Jobs created, value chains established, promises kept and grey areas: what the public figures say and do not say.
p. 21
Report
Three workshops, three models
A day in a cashew processing unit, a textile workshop and an industrial joinery.
p. 31
Investigation
The real price of energy for a manufacturer
Cost per kilowatt hour, production stoppages, generators: the hidden bill of processing.
p. 40
Data Benin
What the country processes, what it still exports raw
Twelve products tracked over five years, from cotton to cashew.
p. 46
Toolbox
Standards, approvals, certifications
The full process for putting a processed product on the regional market.